Initial jobless claims fall to the lowest level since 1973

Initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to 253,000, according to
the Labor Department.

Economists were expecting claims to rise slightly to 270,000,
according to Bloomberg.

The previous week's data was revised down to 266,000.

The 4-week moving average was
265,000, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised
average.

The Labor Department noted
that there were no special factors impacting initial
claims.

Initial claims have been below
300,000 for 58 straight weeks now — the longest streak since
1973.

"We'd love to be able to argue
convincingly that these data represent hard evidence of a further
improvement in labor market conditions, but it's more likely that
Easter-related seasonal adjustment problems explain the drop,"
wrote Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Shepherdson after
the data crossed.

"The seasonals struggle to cope
with the shifting date of the holiday from year to year, and the
numbers won't be reliable again until early May. The trend in
claims undoubtedly is very low, but it's probably still in the
low 270s, rather than the low 250s."